Quarterfinal First Leg – Vancouver 2 – Timbers 0
By: mao | October 8th, 2010Portland Timbers played one of their worst matches of the season at the worst possible time in a disgraceful 2-0 loss away to Vancouver Whitecaps in their USSF Division II quarterfinal first leg at Swangard Stadium. Portland gifted the homestanding Whitecaps a goal in the first minute and a poor refereeing decision cost Portland in the twelfth minute, leaving the quarterfinal tie all but lost.
Gershon Koffie scored after a first minute corner led to a scrum in front of goal. Just ten minutes later, Khalif Alhassan was called for a foul in the box, allowing Martin Nash to convert the penalty and give Vancouver an early and ultimately insurmountable 2-0 lead. Rather than patiently build their way back into the game, Portland reverted to the huff-it-upfield mentality that led to their mid-season demise. Gavin Wilkinson’s true colors emerged once again in the playoffs as his side could not find any composure or patience in attack.
Bright Dike and Kevin Goldthwaite did force fine reaction saves from Jay Nolly in the second half, shots that could have changed the face of this tie. But mention of those without noting Vancouver’s second half chances would be unfair. Philippe Davies hit the post with a completely open net, a real sitter, while Davide Chiumiento totally wasted a breakaway. In the first half, Terry Dunfield rung the post. Portland were lucky to emerge from Burnaby with just a two-goal deficit.
It is possible that the Timbers can turn this tie around in Sunday’s second leg at Merlo Field. But coming in two goals down means Portland will have to be seeking out goals from the start instead of letting the opportunities come through the game. That will leave openings for Vancouver to counter, a situation that will be happily exploited by the Whitecaps, particularly knowing that they’ll really need just a single goal to advance to the semi-finals. Portland will need to find ways to get Ryan Pore more involved and not leave Dike to fend for himself up top. Clearly the 4-3-3 employed by Wilkinson did not go as planned, so it will be interesting to see how the manager responds for the second leg.
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Comments
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What a great match!
I thought the penalty call was a bit soft, but not totally unwarranted. The reffing was, once again, below par. But we really should have been up 3-0 at the half. Our 3–man midfield was having its way with you guys for the first 45 minutes.
The second half opened up a bit for you as we got tired, and I think Dike was a little unlucky not to get a goal. A 3-1 scoreline would have been just.
Do we have your number again this year? Here’s hoping.
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I can’t blame you for not knowing how Portland usually play, but that was not it. It was probably the second or third worst the Timbers have played all season. Absolutely disgraceful defending on our part. Didn’t help that our best central defender is on national team duty in Gambia.
You’re right that Dike probably deserved a goal, and Nolly’s save on Goldthwaite’s shot was fantastic. But you went off the post twice and had many more chances. Based on our performance, we’re lucky as hell that it’s only a two goal deficit.
I do believe you have our number in these playoffs. It’s clear Gavin Wilkinson has no clue how to get his team to play in the post-season. That’s not a problem limited to this season. But hopefully tomorrow’s second leg will be at least interesting. Would hate to just throw in the towel, as we appeared to do on Thursday.
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